Merchandise display shelf



June 23, 1959 E F MAUPHQ 2,891,679

MERCHANDISE DISPLAY SHELF Filed June 17, 1955 Fig. 4

IN VEN TOR. w @162- W in" the store or other place of business.

MERCHANDISE DISPLAYISHELF' Elwood F. Maupin, Edgerton, 'Wyo.

iipplication Juue' 17, 1955, Serial No. 516,290

2 Claims. '(Cl; 211-434) The present invention relates to. simple,economical and practical means which is suitably and effectuallydesigned tobe used in conjunction with store and equivalent shelves andwhich may be conveniently, yet accurately, construed as a salespromoting auxiliary'shelf.

There.has.long existed a need, it-is believed, for readily applicableand removable extra or auxiliary shelves, such that they may beoptionally and selectively brought into play to function as a so-calledeye catcher while utilizing aminimum of available space, much to themutual advantage of all concerned.

It has doubtless occurred to others than the applicant that certaincommodities and articles ofmerchandise are slow to move off the mainshelves and that it is therefore necessary to not only advertise thesamein newspapers and elsewhere, but also to give prominent display theretoThe instant invention-has to do with one or more extra or auxiliaryshelves for this purpose, said shelves being handily and effectuallyusable in any and all departments, whether they be groceries, notions,dry goods, shoes, cosmetics, etc.

For instance, in a shoe store where the shoes to be sold are oftenhidden from view, the employment of the invention herein disclosed willbring about enlivened sales while at the same time, affecting salariesof clerks and salesmen, this because the invention is self-performing inisolating and directing attention to a particular style of shoe which iscurrently being pushed for seasonal or other sales requirements.

In carrying out the principles of the invention, a highly simple andpracticable shelf has been evolved and produced. Keeping in mind thegeneral scope of the concept, a flat circular shelf is utilized. This issuitably designed and provided with a novel arrangement of slots andfastenings whereby said shelf may be projected to extend beyond thelengthwise edge of the main shelf, or retracted and folded to anout-of-the-way position when not in use.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparentfrom the following description and the accompanying sheet ofillustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate likeparts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a main shelf and theauxiliary shelf showing the construction and arrangement and usethereof;

Figure 2 is likewise a perspective view observing what may be called theunderneath or bottom side of the auxiliary shelf;

Figure 3 is a section taken approximately on the plane of the line 33 ofFigure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view showing the shelf retracted half-way andindicating how it may be further retracted or adjusted.

By way of introduction to the description of the details and to brieflysummarize, the over-all combination is char- United States Patentdenoted'by; the numeral 8 is treated in the singular. is evidentdhatanynumber of .main andauxiliaryshelves are-involved within theover-all'purview of the inventive bottom and top surfaces.

-acterized as embodying a fixedmain shelf for storage, display andsaleofvendible commodities and equivalent merchandise, andarelatively smallauxiliary companion shelf .operatively mounted on-saidmain shelf andadapted to project outwardly and beyond the front lengthwise edge ofsaid main shelf and expressly designed to isolate and otherwiseprominently display a predetermined artic'le of merchandise, whichison'sale or is being otherwise significantly advertised, whereby tothus attract a prospectivepurchasers.eye thereto and promote thesalethereof.

Referring now tothe drawings withreference numerals 'and'accompanyinglead lines, the aforementioned main shelf (see Figure 3- in particularis. denoted by the numeral 6. This represents any so-called storageshelf which may be around on a wall in a store, or in a partitionedcabinet in shelflservice stores, one of a tier of shelves-in abookstore, etc. The expression mainshelf is employed in the singular tosimplify thepresentation here. Likewise, the auxiliary shelf which isgenerally It concept. As before stated, the auxiliary shelf ispreferably, of-circular'or-discoidal form, and it is of appropriatesize,ddependingupon the particular merchandising store in which it isused. It is preferably provided with flat The outer marginal edge isdenoted at 10.. Projecting radially from a suitable point .at-this=edge,,there is an extension which-may beconveniently-referred to as anattaching and adjusting arm 12. At 'its-free end 14, it is provided witha setscrew 16 which zisengageable with-thebottoml8 of theimain shelf byway of a swivelled binding head 20. The shelf is provided with what maybe broadly treated as a cruciform slot construction, and this isreferred to generally by the numeral 22. It comprises several componentsor branches, for example, a main lengthwise branch 24 which extends tothe center of the plate and also extends centrally and lengthwise of thearm and terminates as at 26, spaced inwardly from the end 14 of saidarm. In line with this, there is a similar complemental slot 28 whichterminates inwardly of the marginal edge of the plate. There are twodiametrically opposite similar lateral slots 30 and 32. The numerals 24,26 and 28 may be said to define a main lengthwise slot crossed by a complemental slot which embodies the two lateral branches 30 and 32.Broadly, however, this is all treated as a cruciform slot construction,and this serves to accommodate the fixed attaching bolt 34, as bestshown in Figure 3. The headed end 36 is fixed in the shelf and the shankextends below the bottom of the shelf where it is provided with a thumbnut 38. The nut and shank provide attaching and adjusting means for theover-all shelf, and this means cooperates with the setscrew in theobvious manner depicted in the drawings. The main shelf is shown with amarginal edging strip 40 the lower edge 42 of which provides a sort of arest for the extensible and retractable auxiliary shelf. Hence, thisshelf may be projected and used in the obvious manner depicted inFigures 1 and 2, completely retracted and folded away or moved in thedirection of the arrows A and B in Figure 1, or C and D in Figure 4.

The circular shape of this shelf conforms so well to the round shapedcans making displays neat and uniform. Price tags of any style suitableto the type of merchandise displayed can be easily adjusted by means ofScotch tape on merchandise or at the base of the display. Anotheradvantage of this invention is the fact that it can be slid undershelves out of sight when not in use and pulled out for use in a matterof, a few seconds, thus eliminating time and effort wasted in storingand assembling each time.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

l. In combination, a fixed main shelf for storage, display and sale ofvendible commodities and equivalent merchandise, and in combinationtherewith an optionally usable relatively small auxiliary specialpurpose shelf adapted to be operatively mounted on and beneath said mainshelf and also adapted to extend outwardly and beyond a cooperatinglengthwise edge of the main shelf, said auxiliary shelf beingsubstantially circular in plan, projectible, retractable and otherwiseadaptable to the uses for which it is expressly designed, said auxiliaryshelf having a flat body portion and provided on one marginal edge witha projecting arm, said auxiliary shelf and arm being in one piece andcoplanar and having a straight bolt accommodating slot, said slotextending from adjacent one end portion of said arm and continuingsubstantially entirely and uninterruptedly and centrally across saidbody portion and terminating adjacent a marginal edge portion of saidbody portion, said arm being provided at the end remote from said bodyportion with a setscrew, said setscrew extending through said arm atright angles to the plane of the arm and having a swivellecl headabutting the underneath side of the main shelf and being accessible forready manipulation and adjustment, said slot accommodating a supportingand retaining bolt carried by and depending below the shelf andextending through the slot and provided on the bottom thereof with anaccessible nut.

2. An optionally usable disappearing auxiliary shelf adapted to be usedon and in conjunction with a main shelf, and having a body portionsubstantially circular in plan, fiat and provided on one marginal sidewith a reduced radially projecting arrn, said shelf and arm being ofone-piece construction and coplanar with each other and having alinearally straight bolt accommodating slot extending from adjacent oneend portion of the arm and continuing substantially entirely-anduninterruptedly and centrally across said body portion and terminatingadjacent a marginal edge portion of the shelf, an attaching andsupporting bolt adapted to be connected with said main shelf and havinga threaded shank adapted to extend through said slot and provided on itslower end with a nut and whereby said shelf may be suspended fromunderneath side of the main shelf, and a setscrew mounted on and carriedby a free end portion of said arm, said setscrew extending through saidarm in a position at right angles to the lengthwise axis of the arm andhaving an end portion adapted to contact the bottom of the main shelffor levelling said auxiliary shelf.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 99,857Daggett Feb. 14, 1870 409,887 Walker Aug. 27, 1889 771,965 Bagley Oct.11, 1904 895,833 Aungst Aug. 11, 1908 960,483 Becker June 7, 19101,494,212 Bromley May 13, 1924 1,630,925 Clover May 31, 1927 1,991,216Hyams Feb. 12, 1935 2,668,744 Cockrell Feb. 9, 1954 2,689,050 AlbinSept. 14, 1954 2,723,097 Tyler Nov. 8, 1955

